The Productive Student

“The diligent farmer plants trees, of which he himself will never see the fruit.” — Cicero

It’s not like you haven’t heard of global warming. You get bombarded with tips and rules on how to please Al Gore. The most common suggestions include “buy a hybrid car”, “buy efficient bulbs” and “don’t fly”.

As a student, none of those apply to me in any way. I can’t afford a car, I have one lightbulb in my student room and college isn’t really the kind of occupation that sends you flying across the globe twice a week.

So what could I do in my student life to tackle this? I didn’t just want to be “green” for the sake of it. Going green also means reducing cost, living more efficiently (which is probably a weird fetish of mine, but that’s what Economics teaches you) and sustainably while using up as little of our planet as we can. Here’s what every student can do to do their part:

1. Eat less meat or go vegetarian. Livestock is one of the world’s largest producers of greenhouse gases (yes, cow farts). Get a Student’s Veg Cookbook or learn how to become a vegetarian.

2. Do more efficient laundry. Simplify your closet, don’t use a dryer, wash at appropriate temperatures, use greener detergent and don’t iron things you don’t have to iron. See a slew of green laundry tips. I think for us students we don’t need to be told twice not to do our laundry. But simplifying your clothing might be something to think about (tips for guys, gals).

3. Buy groceries with less packaging. Generating waste takes a major toll on our planet. By choosing fresh produce that doesn’t come in excessive packaging, or by buying larger amounts at a time, which also saves you money, you can reduce your plastic bag footprint. You don’t have to buy organic just to be green, but make a conscious effort to reduce packaging waste.

4. Eat out less. This can really hard for students to implement. But it makes a big difference. Think about how many garbage bags of take-out containers you’ve disposed in the past. Think of all the plastic bags, which are made of fossil fuels. Eating at home more often and cooking yourself not only gives you back the choice of food, but also reduces its carbon footprint.

5. Buy a greener computer. Use one single computer, and let it be a green one. Also plan for longevity. I personally have a 4-year life cycle for my computers. Which is probably above average, but it feels just about right and has worked for me for the last 8 years.

6. Optimize your commute. If you drive a car, stop. Use public transport. Better, walk or bike short distances. Also, start sending letters to your town government asking why your town doesn’t have natural gas public transport or electric buses yet. You’ll save money on the gas and maintenance of the car, too!

7. Decompose organic waste. Find options in your town for collecting and decomposing organic kitchen waste. There are options for collecting vegetable peelings and other cooking waste for decomposition into organic fertilizer. If you have the opportunity, make compost.

8. Bring your own bag for shopping. Reduce the amount of plastic bags in your life by taking along a bag when you go do your grocery shopping. Plastic bags are the world’s top consumer product – and one of the environmentally most objectionable. Plastic bags may use less energy to produce per piece than jute bags, but if you re-use the bags instead of throwing them away, you win.

9. Recycle paper. As a student, you have piles of notes and paper that you will eventually throw away. Find options for recycling paper in your town and make good use of them. Recycled paper gets remade into cheaper books and notepads. Find it more on how to recycle paper. You can save money on this if your official garbage bags cost a lot of money, as is the case in many European countries.

10. Buy recycled notepads and textbooks. For your scrap notes, or notes in general, consider buying recycled notepads. You get them at different grades, so choose a type you’re comfortable with. Also, many textbooks come in recycled versions. They’re cheaper, and the content stays the same.

11. Put old and unwanted textbooks up for sale. Encourage re-use of textbooks among freshmen by selling them your old books. And redeem some of that spent money doing it. In the U.S. you can use BigWords.com, or you can sell them on Amazon anywhere else. I’d also strongly recommend checking your student union of university website, where you’ll find more relevant buyers.

12. Use a durable water bottle. Get a good, durable waterbottle that also looks really cool. The investment pays for itself: If you have drinkable water coming from your tap, just fill this thing up and you’re good to go. And, since it comes in so many colors, make a statement, too.

13. Be conscious about lights everywhere. Turn off lights when leaving any room, at home or on campus, and find out what your university is doing about this issue, as well. Campuses are often huge outfits with massive energy consumption, so ask your campus manager what’s being done to keep the footprint small.

14. Reduce and manage electronic devices. You have a phone, and a computer. Try to keep it at that. Don’t own a TV unless you think it’s really necessary. When having multiple devices connected, keep them safe with a power strip that you can turn off. Devices in stand-by mode are as good as having them turned on! So completely shut off things you don’t use.

“The insufferable arrogance of human beings to think that Nature was made solely for their benefit, as if it was conceivable that the sun had been set afire merely to ripen men’s apples and head their cabbages.” — Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac, États et empires de la lune, 1656